Banter #89: Should the Minimum Wage Be Raised?

In this week’s episode of AEI’s Banter podcast, Stu and Andrew sit down with the man, the myth, the legend: AEI economist Michael Strain. The topic: minimum wage laws. Michael walks through the likely effects of raising the federal minimum wage law from $7.25 to $9.00 as President Obama proposed in his recent state of the union address. Michael touches on both economic theory and empirical studies to make his case, suggesting that unemployment would rise. But we don’t just stop there. We also discuss the potential upside of raising the minimum wage, who works in minimum wage jobs, and the value of these jobs for workers. Last, Stu and Andrew reminisce about minimum wage jobs they’ve held (present jobs excluded). As always, thanks for listening and enjoy!